ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS RELATED TO PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION OF FOREIGN STUDENTS IN CHINA

International students who have arrived in China after passing the HSK 4 level as language requirements required for admission face difficulties in studying such disciplines as listening, speaking, reading and writing. On the HSK 4 exam, it is difficult to effectively test the language skills required for vocational training. The vocabulary studied and the number of examination questions do not satisfy the needs of reading professional educational materials. The article suggests measures to improve pre-university training.

MULTIMODALITY IN TEACHING ACADEMIC RESEARCH SKILLS: THE COGNITIVE CREATIVE METHODOLOGY CASE OF CRITICAL ASSESSMENT COMPETENCE SHAPING

In the proposed case study the authors show, how the original methodological algorithm may be used to creatively teach basic academic research skills and shape the fundamental research competence of professional literature critical assessment. The didactic technique of key concepts mind-mapping and presenting critical thinking reports by means of cognitive comprehensive reading professional academic literature is going to be demonstrated in the current paper as a creative tool of training analytical skills of critical evaluation, necessary for post graduate students involved in their early research activities.

The learners’ needs on local cultural contents of reading professional context textbook at English program study

Curriculum development comprises a process to meet learners’ needs leading to learners’ learning improvement. For that reason, curriculum developers should gather as much information as possible toward the learners’ needs. This study aims to reveal the learners’ needs on local cultural based-textbook in learning Reading Professional Context at the English department of Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI) Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. This study employed qualitative with survey design. One-hundred-and-fifty-five learners of English program study of UKI Toraja participated in this study. The instruments used in this study are questionnaire and semi structured-interview. The technique of analyzing data applied in this research is descriptive analysis in the form of calculation and percentage, and in analyzing the qualitative data (interview), the researcher used cyclical data analysis. This study showed that the students’ need a learning objective to understand beliefs, norms, values, and social practices in Toraja for maintaining Torajan Culture and avoiding misunderstanding across the culture. This study also indicates that the students’ need themes about the cultural pattern in Toraja for learning materials include beliefs, values, norms, and social practices in Toraja. Besides, this study revealed that students’ need learning strategies and evaluation. Learning strategies are rooted in activities/exercises on the material content and the number of students. On-time evaluation is necessary during the process and at the end of the lesson.

Implemented Teaching Methods Based on Interactive Learning Process in Order to Increase the Ability of Learning Foreign Language

Nowadays, the flipped classroom technology has become popular in the educational institutions of developed countries. However, in Russia this approach has not been widely practiced yet due to objective reasons. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effectiveness of using the flipped classroom technology in the system of higher education and specifically in foreign language courses. This article presents the results of the experiment on the implementation of some elements of flipped classroom technology in Kazan Federal University (Russia). The experiment was held with the students of the Law Faculty (60 people) through the course "Foreign language (French) in the sphere of jurisprudence". The idea of making the experiment came after getting very low students’ exam results at the end of the course. In this group traditional methods of SL teaching were used according to state educational standards such as reading professional texts and communication on professional topics. After thorough analysis of the results, the following reasons for unsatisfactory assessments were identified: systematic absence of the students at classes, systematic failure of completing homework assignments, and abuse of electronic translators. Thus, the need to use different teaching approaches became obvious. Taking into account the situation, the authors decided to use the flipped classroom technology to develop students’ core competencies and to improve their language skills.

A Research on Reading Therapy of Chinese University Students with Depression

This paper discusses the treatment of Chinese university students with depression by reading therapy, and provides theoretical and experimental basis for improving university students' depression. In this study, Beck Depression Inventory was used to measure the psychology of university students to discover depressed university students and evaluate the effect of reading therapy experiment. The researcher observed the effect of reading professional psychological books and general recreational books on university students' depression, and compared the two kinds of effects. Reading therapy has a significant effect on improving the psychological problems of Chinese university students with depression. General recreational reading is more effective in the treatment of university students depression than professional psychological reading.

Strategy to Promote Professional Reading in University Libraries

Reading promotion in university libraries needs to consider the differences in reading behavior of different readers and adopt suitable reading promotion strategies. Here, we first review the current situation of professional reading promotion and distinguish the demand characteristics of different types of readers. Then we conduct personal interviews with graduate students in Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and results demonstrate that the demands of graduate students for information on professional reading promotion and reading professional books and literatures become their indispensable demands in reading. Therefore, the visible display strategy to professional reading promotion is suggested for university libraries. Finally, taking an example of the reading promotion for zero-borrowing professional books, it is proved that the proposed strategy can increase the proportion of borrowed books and promote professional reading. In summary, we use tangible display strategy as theoretical basis and testify the proposed strategy for professional reading promotion: 1) a special cabinet displaying relevant professional books, 2) resources and charts, 3) placing bookshelves of stereoscopic models, and 4) designing and distributing a reading brochure.

A New Perspective in Teaching methodology and reading professional texts of EMPP/ESP for medical and paramedical purposes in Iran

Palabras claves: EMPP, enseñanza, ESP, metodologíaResumen. Con el Nuevo milenio ha crecido y ha devenido urgente la necesidad de desarrollar las capacidades para entender y comunicarse con sus semejantes. El intercambio internacional de ideas ha devenido algo vital. Para cubrir esta necesidad un número creciente de personas buscan mejorar sus capacidades lingüísticas para lo cual el método ESP se ha convertido en un medio adecuado.Key words: EMPP, ESP, methodology, teachingAbstract. Entering a new millennium, we have to feel that the ability and the need to understand and communicate with each other has become increasingly important, at times even urgent. An international exchange of ideas seems to be not only essential but also vital. To meet these communication needs, more and more individuals have highly specific academic and professional reasons for seeking to improve their language skills particularly ESP which holds particular appeals to adults.

Exploring the Nature of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programs in a Language Institute

<p>When it is an undeniable reality that learning is at the centre of teaching profession, we assume that the continuing professional development would be a priority for all teachers. EFL teachers like the teachers of other subjects update their skills and knowledge base in order to keep abreast of the new developments and challenges in the field of English language teaching. The present study seeks to explore how EFL teachers in an English language institute at a Saudi Arabian university perceive the effectiveness of Continuing Professional Development in their context as well as the ways in which different modes of CPD can promote and enhance the teachers' learning. This study was conducted at an English language institute of a Saudi university. The study adopted a quantitative approach using online questionnaire. The quantitative data was collected from 50 EFL teachers who were qualified and experienced in the field of TESOL. The findings from the study showed that the teachers viewed external CPD such as courses, seminars, workshops and conferences, and self-directed endeavors like informal discussions, reading professional literature, and self-reflection more beneficial to their development than the internal CPD like classroom observations and other in-house training sessions. This paper concludes that the institution should improve its internal professional development scheme by expanding the professional development unit's role, enhancing the quality of its mentoring program, and establishing communities of practice wherein teachers engage in highly professional practices.</p>